COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County Police said they arrested a man for impersonating a police officer, and they said the suspect actually identified himself to police as an officer.
Channel 2’s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell said police told her he wasn’t wearing a uniform. He didn’t have badge or anything that would indicate he was an officer.
But police say he gave them a graduation certificate from a Florida citizens police academy and a security clearance card that stated he was a security officer.
It’s a problem Channel 2 has reported on numerous times in the past few years, men and women impersonating police officers.
“They’ll buy all the equipment, the pants, the belt, everything that a real police officer would wear, and then go out there and try to act like the police. When somebody does that, that is the most concerning,” Officer Aaron Wilson said.
Investigators say the man identified himself to police as Officer Charles Clare when they responded to an incident between Clare and a hotel clerk last Friday.
“When the hotel clerk ask him to leave, he identified himself: ‘Hey, I’m a law enforcement officer. I don’t have to leave,’” Wilson said.
According to the warrant, police say when they arrived, Clare showed them a certificate with the Lauderhill Police Department and said he was retired from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. But police say the certificate was far from the real thing.
“He was under the belief that being a graduate of the citizens police academy somehow gave him police responsibilities, which is not the case,” Wilson said.
Clare is charged with impersonating a police officer.
Cobb County Police Sgt. David Reid with the Cobb PD Citizens Police Academy says it’s important for people to know the real purpose of a citizen’s police academy.
“We do emphasize they are aware they are not by any means given any special title or privileges because they have attended citizens academy. It gives them a better view of what public safety is doing for them and how do we use the resources for their taxes to better serve them as a community. We do emphasize they are aware they are not by any means given any special title or privileges because they have attended citizens academy,” he said.
The Cobb County police department offers a 16-week Citizen’s Public Safety Academy, residents attend classes once a week. The departments actual police academy is 27 weeks, recruits participate in courses Monday through Friday.
Police are encouraging residents to learn more about public safety departments in the county and all it has to offer through their citizen’s academy.
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